Jeff Cameron is the Google Student Ambassador at the University of Waterloo, where he studies Computer Science and Math. As part of his role as ambassador, he recently hosted a great event focused on Artificial Intelligence, and we wanted to share his story with you here.

In the 2009 Artificial Intelligence Contest at the University of Waterloo, participants used both simple and sophisticated AI techniques to create programs that would intelligently play a simple game. The submitted programs competed in head-to-head tournaments to see how they all ranked compared to one another. Contestants could re-submit their code on the contest website as often as they liked, and the online leaderboard was updated once every hour with fresh tournament results.

A screenshot of the hourly leaderboard after the contest had been open for a few days.

The contest was initially supposed to stay open for two weeks, but was extended by another week due to unexpectedly high participation. Almost 300 participants were involved, with about 150 people submitting their entries to the final tournament. The contest webpage received over 50,000 hits from 38 countries. The final tournament took place at the Contest Finale Code Party, held at the University of Waterloo.

Pictures from the Contest Finale Codeparty. The very talented Mr. Jesse Onland serenades some happy coders with his mad banjo skills.

Some contestants huddle while adding the finishing touches to their entries.

Our congratulations goes out to the winner of this year's Google Artificial Intelligence Contest, Alexandru Stan! A big thank you also goes out to the University of Waterloo Computer Science Club for organizing and hosting the contest. Full contest results are available here.

Posted by Jeff Cameron, Google Campus Ambassador at University of Waterlo

Last month we asked you to nominate your campus to be photographed for Street View on Google Maps. We were inundated with more than 25,000 suggestions across all categories, and university campuses made up 44% of all suggestions!

We've narrowed the top suggested locations to a few finalists and there is now just one week left in the voting period. Cast your vote for your favorite place within each category to tell us which locations you'd most like to see on Google Maps. The university finalists are:

Arizona State University

Michigan State University

Princeton University

Rochester Institute of Technology

Stanford University

Visit www.google.com/trike to vote and see the other finalists! You can vote as many times as you like until the deadline at 11:59pm PST on Monday, November 30th. We'll then work on getting all the winners into Google Maps, and of course we'll work closely with the relevant organizations to collect images of any privately-owned locations.

If voting for Street View trike finalists gets you excited about how much you love Google Maps, be sure to check out our new Google Maps tips for life to help you save time, look smart, and manage your travels efficiently.

We had a chance to speak with intern Lu Chen this summer for theGoogler Beta Series,and she shared with us 5 reasons why interning for Google is awesome. Continue below to get Lu's unique perspective on working here at Google.

1)The People.Without a doubt, the Googlers are truly what makes working here awesome: every person I met was intelligent, dedicated, and just plain cool. Discuss this piece of code? Sure. Switch gears and talk about the latest episode of Top Chef? No sweat. There are smart and cool people at any job, but here at Google, finding them is a sure bet!

2) It's real.Over the course of my internship, I have gotten an accurate taste of what a career in software engineering is actually like. Interns are treated as, and essentially are - full time engineers. I worked within the same codebase and wrote to the same standards as my colleagues. Additionally, my project wasn't some busywork that no one would ever see or use after I left -- rather, I had the pleasure of working on some front-end features that will end up being seen and used by thousands of Blogger users! From the practical experience of working on such a large and fast-paced application, I've learned a lot about web development, product life cycles, and programming in general.

3) Being 'Googley'.Everyone at Google works insanely hard, but there is also a sense of fun that is endorsed by the company culture. During one offsite, I went on a white water rafting trip! Through the intern program, I also had the opportunity to have some fun with my fellow interns: paintball, indoor skydiving, hiking, etc. Alongside all of the fun, there is an unspoken expectation that every Googler knows his workload and gets it accomplished bt the end of the day. I wasn't told what hours to work or where on campus I should work (work next to frozen yogurt machine, anyone?). Not many companies give their employees such trust and freedom, and the culture is one area where Google really outshines its competitors.

4) One big company, lots of diverse opportunities.Although I was a part of the Blogger team, I got to experience and learn much more than Blogger engineering. For example, I took a mini-course on UX (User Experience) sketching and learned how to draft quick prototypes on paper. I even took a seminar on making mochas and espressos! Between tech talks, seminars, and 20% time, Google offers so many opportunities to continue learning. Even in the scope of my own project, it wasn't just daily coding; I had the opportunity to contribute towards the user experience, design, engineering and testing of my feature.

As part of Google’s ongoing commitment to encouraging students of underrepresented backgrounds in technology to pursue graduate study, we are pleased to host the first annual 2010 Google Graduate Researchers in Academia of Diverse backgrounds (GRAD) CS Forum. This forum will bring together students who are historically underrepresented in the field to connect with one another and with Google.

Up to 75 computer scientists will be invited to an all-expenses paid forum that will run Thursday evening through Saturday afternoon on January 21–23 at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, CA.

The Google GRAD CS Forum will include technical talks from established researchers – both from Google and universities – and a unique occasion to build and strengthen networks with other emerging researchers. Students will also enjoy tours of the Googleplex, have the opportunity to meet with Google engineers in their focus areas, and have fun exploring the San Francisco Bay Area.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must:

be a computer science (or related technical discipline) graduate student currently enrolled in a Masters or PhD program at a university in North America

demonstrate academic excellence and leadership in the computing field

maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale or 4.3 on a 5.0 scale or equivalent in their current program

The forum is open to all qualified graduate students, and is committed to addressing diversity in our company and in the technology industry. Students who are a member of a group that is historically under-represented in the technology industry are encouraged to apply, including female, Native American, African American and Hispanic students as well as students with disabilities.

Selection Process

Google engineers will select up to 75 attendees based on each applicant’s academic and technical achievements. Evidence of academic achievement and leadership experience should be evident from the resume.

How to Apply

Complete the online application and submit all required documents online. First-time users will be required to register and create an account. Please note that recommendation letters are not required.

Google RISE (Roots in Science and Engineering) Awards are designed to promote and support science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and computer science (CS) education initiatives. We provide awards to organizations working with university and pre-university students to provide enrichment programs in these fields. Support may include a combination of monetary awards ranging from $500 - $10,000, volunteer resources and in-kind donations.

Google believes that technology will continue to play an important role in shaping our future and knows that the youth of today will help innovate and drive these technologies for years to come. Through the Google RISE Awards Program, we aspire to help students take one step closer to achieving their potential by offering growth and development opportunities.

We're excited to announce the launch of Google Sites site templates. Site templates are pre-packaged sites that anyone can use to make creating your own website even easier. This is especially valuable for students so that when you're making your site you can now skip a few steps, and instead of making a site from scratch, start with a template.

You can use site templates to organize, publish and share information about your school, class, projects, fraternity or sorority, school club, intramural teams, or any other organization or event.

Additionally if you create a site that you think others might like or use, you can create a template and add it to the gallery!

To browse site templates click the Create new site button. You can choose one of the popular templates highlighted on the site creation page, or you can click Browse the gallery for more to see more options.

Google is pleased to partner with the Hispanic College Fund to offer scholarships for computer science students!

Google HCF scholarships will be awarded based on the strength of candidates’ academic background, leadership and passion for computer science. Recipients will each receive a $10,000 scholarship for the 2010-2011 academic year. Selected students will also be invited to attend the all-expenses-paid Annual Google Scholars’ Retreat at the Googleplex in Mountain View, California in the Spring of 2010.

Eligibility Requirements:

Must be of Hispanic background

Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident residing in the United States or Puerto Rico

Studying at an accredited university in the U.S. or Puerto Rico for the upcoming academic year

Enrolled (or plan to be) full-time for the upcoming academic year

Have a minimum GPA of a 3.5 on a 4.0 scale

Demonstrate financial need

junior or senior undergraduate or graduate student pursuing a degree in computer science or computer engineering for the 2010-2011 academic year

Our next entry for the Google Beta Series features an interview with intern Alex Sydell. Alex interned last summer at our Mountain View campus as a Software Engineer in Search Quality. Follow below as Alex details his unique experience at our global headquarters.

Q: Hi Alex, thank you for joining us today. Could you briefly explain your summer internship project with Google this summer?

A: Sure. My team creates and maintains tools that are used to evaluate the quality of Google's search results. I worked on a new web-based user interface (UI) that automates part of the evaluation process. My project allows engineers to more intuitively configure some of our tools and quickly get the new configurations into our codebase.

Q: What would you say is for your favorite part of working here at Google?

A: Being surrounded by Googlers! I have never been in a place with so many smart, talented, friendly, and open people. Everyone is easy to approach with a question, whether just asking for directions or having a detailed discussion about a project. And someone always offers a helping hand. It is incredibly easy to make friends at Google because there is a very little sense of superiority and no reservations between Googlers. The atmosphere at Google is second to none.

Q: Could you describe a moment during your summer that will be difficult for you to forget?

A: BBQ week before the 4th of July holiday. Three days of BBQ: Hawaii, Louisiana, and Texas-style! We ate what seemed like pounds of delicious BBQ meat and seafood each day, completely full but wanting more. I must admit, it was a bit hard to work after eating so much good food, but we all survived. There was even a mechanical bull and a mini petting zoo, giving us plenty of opportunity to make complete fools of ourselves falling off of the bull or chasing rabbits and goats around a little cage. Without distractions like these, work would be mundane and unmotivating. There so many exciting events constantly taking place around us, and Googlers have proven that it is possible to be incredibly productive while still having a lot of fun.

Today we're excited to announce the most recent addition to our scholarship programs in Europe, the Google Europe Scholarship for Students with Disabilities. This scholarship is designed for students with disabilities who are pursuing degrees in the field of computer science anywhere in the European Union, plus Switzerland and Israel. Multiple scholarships will be awarded based on the strength of candidates' academic performance and demonstrated passion for computer science.

Scholarships will be granted for the 2010/2011 academic year, and recipients will be invited to attend an all-expenses-paid retreat at Google's Engineering Center in Zurich in 2010.

Here's what Nelson Mattos, our VP for Product and Engineering in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, has to say about this scholarship: "We're committed to diversifying the long-term engineering talent pool for the industry as a whole. We hope that this scholarship will increase opportunities for students with disabilities and encourage them to pursue careers in computer science. The retreat fosters relationships so that scholars can form a supportive network lasting the full length of their academic studies and beyond."

We know that a diverse group of people use our tools and services and only an equally diverse workforce can anticipate our users' needs. We've found that the diversity of perspectives, ideas and cultures leads to the creation of better products to the benefit of all users of the Internet. We hope that this scholarship works towards that end.

Yesterday we announced an expansion of our Virgin America WiFi sponsorship to also include 47 airports. Both programs will offer free WiFi through January 15, 2010 and will cover more than 10 million passengers traveling this holiday season. There's no Google account or credit card required to log on, but we'll be offering the option to try out a Google product and also offer the chance to donate to one of three charities; we'll be matching donations up to $250,000.

We hope that this makes travel to be with friends and family that much better this holiday season.

You can learn more about the program at http://www.freeholidaywifi.com

We continue the Googlers Beta Series with a story from Alyssa Daw, a Google Summer Intern and BS student from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, who will share with you her experience as a Software Engineer in Test (SET) Intern in our Kirkland office.

Alyssa Daw was offered as an Software Engineering in Test (SET) with Google last winter and prepared vigorously by taking advanced coursework in computer science. "I was absolutely ecstatic when I got an internship at Google and I immediately set out to prepare myself by registering for the most difficult courses that I could for spring quarter," she says.

After her winter quarter, Alyssa was diagnosed with a rare medical condition and, after considering the severity of her situation, she contacted Google to give up her offer. "I called my manager to say that he could find someone else," she says. "But instead of taking me up on my offer, he offered to hold the job for me for as long as I wanted it - even if it meant finding shorter projects in case I needed to start late."

Alyssajoined Google this summer in the Seattle office as an intern in our SET group. And although her situation caused her to begin the internship behind schedule, she still had a very successful summer with us. "In the end, I did have to start a couple of weeks late, but the experience was amazing! I definitely felt the support from my whole team, especially my host who ended up getting Vice President approval for some of my accommodations."

Alyssa knew she was going to spend her summer as an SET, but she didn't quite understand what that meant at the time. "Before my internship, I thought that a Test Engineer primarily spent their time testing, and I am sure that in some cases this is true. However, during my internship with Google the only tests that I ran were against my own code - just like any other developer. I also got the experience of talking to users (in this case, other Googlers), and designing and developing a product that fit their specifications."

Her contribution to Google? A tool that allows admins to organize and display information about test labs. "I have never worked in a place where it was so easy to write quality code, test the code, have the code reviewed, and see all the comments, changes, test coverage, and more in one place. This is all thanks to some stellar internal tools. As I got into my own project, it hit me: I was adding to the stellar tools! It felt great to be giving back in this way, and to know that future Googlers would use my tool to make their lives easier.

The Google Online Marketing Challenge is a global student competition open to any higher education institution anywhere in the world. The 2009 Challenge had over 10,000 students in 57 countries competing and we want this year's Challenge to grow even more .... please help us to get the word out!

How it works ....

Teams of 3-6 students receive US$200 of online advertising with AdWords and then find local businesses to work with to devise an online marketing campaign. Teams outline a strategy, run their campaign, assess the results and provide the business with recommendations to further develop their online marketing. The winners are judged by an international panel of independent academics.

The challenge is a great way to get you and your classmates involved in the quickly evolving world of online marketing. It's a skill you'll want to have as you graduate and prepare to enter a tough job market and it's definitely a fun way to gain real-world experience with a real client.

Registration ....

Your professor, lecturer or whoever teaches you, enters their student team into the Challenge. If you think your professors, lecturers or tutors might be interested in signing their classes up for the Challenge, let them know about this opportunity! Your professor can obtain more information in the Academic Guide (http://www.google.com/onlinechallenge/students_guides.html) which is filled with information your professor will want to know to decide if the Challenge is right for their class.

The Challenge is open to any university, any discipline, at the graduate or undergraduate level in any country.